Every Second Counts
by optimistiCelia
Summary: Picks up right after that scene in 3.02, "Haunted Leg," where Rory and Jess have their screaming match in Doose's. Rory realizes how hypocritical she's being and how much she wants Jess. How Rory and Jess should have worked things out. A oneshot no more!
1. Chapter 1

Every Second Counts

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls property of whoever; story title property of Plain White T's.

A/N: Okay, so this picks up right after that scene in "Haunted Leg" (3.02) in Doose's where Rory and Jess have their screaming match right after Rory gets back from Washington to find Jess making out with Shane under a tree. As a refresher of the contents of said screaming match, the fic starts with the last part of their convo before we go into the wild and wacky world that is my imagination. Rory's thoughts in italics. Ooh, and look, we get to start with ranting Jess:

"I'm sorry, did I hear from you at all this summer? Did I just happen to miss the thousands of phone calls you made to me, or did the postman happen to lose all those letters you wrote to me? You kiss me, you tell me not to say anything. . .very flattering, by the way. You go off to Washington. . . then nothing. Then you come back here all put out because I didn't just sit around and wait for you like Dean would've done? And yeah, what about Dean? Are you still with him? 'Cause last time I checked, you were, and I haven't heard anything to the contrary. Plus, the two of you walking around the other day like some damn Andy Hardy movie. Seemed to me like you're still pretty together. I half expected you to break into a barn and put on a show."

"When did you see me with Dean?"

"At that stupid summer insanity plea the town put on."

"Oh, I'm surprised you could see anything with Shane's head plastered to your face."

"You didn't answer me."

"About what?"

"Did you call me at all?"

"No."

"Did you send me a letter?"

"No."

"Postcard?"

"No."

"Smoke signal?"

"Stop."

"A nice fruit basket?"

"Enough! "

"Are you still with Dean? Come on, Rory, yes or no – are you still with Dean?"

"Yes, I'm still with Dean, yes!"

"Glad to hear it."

"Glad to tell you."

"See you around."

"Whatever."

"Right back at ya."

Rory snatched up her grocery basket and stalked off. _Who the hell does he think he is, questioning me like that? Of course I'm still with Dean! Dean is an amazing guy. Jess wishes he was that amazing. That's his problem - jealousy! He is so jealous of Dean, he can't even stand it! God, it's so freakin' obvious! And acting like since I didn't contact him, that somehow makes it okay for him to just move on like that... by any rational person's handbook, he practically cheated on me. I can't believe he's being such a hypocrite! You would never catch me being with one person and then just going off and kissing someone else-- oh my God. Oh my GOD!_

Rory made an abrupt about-face and stared wildly back at Jess. He was right where she left him, staring straight back at her. Abandoning her groceries, she raced back to him and unceremoniously planted her mouth on his. He responded immediately, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against him. _And I thought the kiss at Sookie's wedding was good..._

"Rory." He pulled away.

_No, why is he stopping us? This was good, we were doing good-- _

"Rory!"

"What?"

"We can't just - is this gonna be your M.O.? Kiss me whenever you feel like it, and then just leave?"

_Oh, I forgot to explain before I... man, why does my head get so fuzzy around him? _"Oh, God, I'm doing it again..."

"That's exactly my point! I mean, to hell with hit-and-runs, Rory Gilmore's revolutionizing the world with _kiss_-and-runs!"

"No... that's not what I meant... I mean, I am doing that, too, albeit inadvertently, but I was actually referring to how I get really scattered around you - unfocused, rather, and I tend to lose my train of-"

"Rory."

"Right, yes, see what I mean? And that's what happened just now, I didn't mean to just come over here and kiss you, I was going to... say... stuff... first, but I just got sidetracked, but I am fully prepared to talk now, and I think that-"

"Rory, shut the hell up." Jess smirked, and bent down to capture her lips again. After a few enjoyable moments, it was Rory's turn to break the kiss.

"But I thought you were concerned we weren't going to talk -"

"I was. But then you assured me - in a charmingly incoherent way, might I add - that my fears were unfounded. And who am I to doubt your word?" There was that smirk again.

_Oh, God. I'm never going to be able to say no to him. _"You're just too damn adorable..." She muttered.

"Well, shucks. You're gonna make me blush, ma'am." He answered cheekily.

"Okay, now listen, mister. We are going to get this out of the way once and for all, and then we are going to be finished, and everything will be clear, and then I won't have to feel guilty about how easily you distract me!"

"You feel guilty about being distracted by the thought of making out? Wow, that sounds like some serious therapy material. You should really see someone about that, preferably someone well-versed in Freud, since this really has me wondering if maybe he was right about all that everything-is-motivated-by-sex stuff."

"Jess..." Rory squirmed, a half-smile on her face.

"See, case in point! My _enormous_ amount of sex appeal is making you uncomfortable. I apologize."

"Jess! We're in Doose's!"

"I know, I'm sorry, I would tone it down if I could, but to quote someone who's giving off quite a bit of sexiness themselves right now, 'You're just too damn adorable.'"

"Jess..." She was really smiling this time, a tinge of red evident on her face.

"Ok, Ok, I'm sorry. You wanted to talk. Go ahead, you have my undivided - oh, great. Can't wait to hear this one."

Jess' eyes had snapped to something just behind Rory. She turned around to see what he was staring at, only to come face-to-face with-

"Mom!"

"Hello, dearest child, fruit of my loins. Mind telling mommy what's going on here? See, I was just waiting outside for you in the _freezing_ cold-"

"Mom. It's seventy degrees outside."

"Okay, fine, but still, I had been waiting for you for a _long _time, an especially long time considering the fact that I had just had a very uncomfortable conversation with Kirk, and I needed comfort-"

Jess cleared his throat noisily. Lorelai gave him her patented killer-death-glare. He turned to Rory. "Is that anything like that withering stare you keep promising to show me? Because if it is, maybe you were right about the whole potential injury thing."

Rory smiled at him before turning back to Lorelai. "Mom, I'm sorry, I got a little sidetracked. I really think I need to take care of this right now. Considering some of our past... discussions on the subject, I'm sure you can understand my need to have this resolved ASAP. So why don't you retrieve the food and I'll meet you at home?"

Lorelai shot Jess another suspicious glance. "Well, yes, I think you should get this taken care of, but I can wait. Really. I'd be happy to. In fact, I could stay right here and act as a referee, so in case anyone, oh, I don't know, suggests a _drive-"_

"Mom!"

"Fine, I'm gone, I'm gone." Lorelai backed her way up to the checkout counter and grabbed the bag of groceries from a very confused Miles-the-bagboy. "But can you try to be home within the hour, hun? Because as much as I love and respect and trust you, much longer than that and I'm gonna have to call out the bloodhounds."

"Okay, Mom, fine, just go before you say anything else that will make me want to revoke your rights to pick the car CDs, and then use my newly-acquired rights to play nothing but _Sugar Ray_ for the next year."

"You wouldn't!" Lorelai gasped.

"You really wanna push this?" Rory thought she heard a snort of laughter coming from behind her after she said this.

Sure enough, Lorelai's eyes narrowed at Jess one last time before she reluctantly exited the store with a parting cry of "One hour, Rory!"

Rory shook her head as she turned around to face an extremely smug-looking young man. "What?"

Jess shrugged. "I just feel very honored."

"What do you mean?" Rory tilted her head slightly, waiting for his answer.

"Well... you kinda just picked me over your mom."

Rory stared at him for a moment and then smiled one of her slow, shy smiles. "Well... temporarily... I guess I did."

Jess' jaw dropped open. "Wow, we're actually admitting to it? Who grew some balls in Washington, Sue Thomas?"

Rory shook her head. "Hey, now, no need to get anatomically incorrect with our analogies here." Smiling, she continued, almost flirtatiously. "So... since you're so 'honored' by my decision, we should probably make the most of it." She paused and ducked her head a bit. "I'm all yours, Mr. Mariano. The question is, what are you gonna do about it?"

Jess stared at her, speechless and beyond turned on, and then captured her lips once more before replying. "Well, I guess we should go have that talk, Miss Gilmore." And with that, he put his arm around the girl that, until tonight, he had never thought he would stand a chance with, and led her out of Doose's market onto the streets of Stars Hollow, the town he was beginning to lo- lik- tolerate.

A/N: So, what do you think? I was just watching this episode tonight and this rabid little plot bunny wouldn't leave. Tell me if it's a good thing I listened to it! Press everybody's favorite magic button and review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: We're gonna try this again. :) I'm re-committing myself to this story. Let me know what you think, please, because your suggestions help and are, in fact, the reason I've decided to finish this as a multi-parter.

Disclaimer: If I ever owned Rory or Jess, I must have misplaced them. Sigh.

_**In the last chapter of "Every Second Counts..."**_

_"I'm all yours, Mr. Mariano. The question is, what are you gonna do about it?"_

_Jess stared at her, speechless and beyond turned on, and then captured her lips once more before replying. "Well, I guess we should go have that talk, Miss Gilmore." And with that, he put his arm around the girl that, until tonight, he had never thought he would stand a chance with, and led her out of Doose's market onto the streets of Stars Hollow, the town he was beginning to lo- lik- tolerate._

"So, Magellan, where are we going?" Rory queried.

"It's a surprise." Jess smirked sarcastically.

"Ooh, this is exciting. Shouldn't I be blindfolded to add to the suspense?"

Rory twisted under his arm to smile up at him. Jess kissed her forehead before replying. "Maybe... but I think the pony I got you is a little predictable, so it won't be much of a surprise."

"A pony? Man, I always wanted a pony. Is it pink? Oh, wait, is it actually a unicorn? You were asking Luke for advice on what to get me, weren't you? Jess, that's so sweet!" Rory's smirk rivaled one of Jess'.

Jess rolled his eyes. "You know, sometimes I hear the stuff that comes out of your mouth, and I start to wonder why on earth I would be spending my time with you. Especially considering your taste in authors. I mean, not to beat a dead pony here, but Ayn Rand is not worth anybody's time. Except maybe Taylor's. He deserves to waste four months of his life."

"Four months?"

"Well, come on, it's Taylor."

"True. Wait, Jess, are we going to the..." Rory trailed off and looked up at him questioningly.

"Well, we're here. We're sitting down. What do you think?" Jess pulled away from Rory and seated himself on the bridge, legs dangling over the edge.

"Jess..." Rory remained standing, staring down at him with a bewildered expression on her face.

"Rory..." Jess mocked.

"You... this is where you took me after the basket auction. I mean, I know you said you liked it here, but... it's like - we have a _place_, you know?" Rory beamed at him before happily plopping herself down facing him, her legs crossed indian-style.

"And the insanity keeps on coming." Jess quipped, his eyes fixed on the mercurial surface of the lake.

"Jess. It's a good thing." Rory leaned in towards him and rested her hand on his arm.

"Yeah?" Jess, still leaning over the lake, turned his head to look up at her.

"Yeah." Rory smiled.

"Okay then." Jess swung his legs up and around, mirroring her position. "So... I believe we were going to _talk_."

"Why are you saying it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Taaalk." Rory said exaggeratedly, taking full advantage of air quotes.

"Well, see, _technically_, we're talking right now, so saying we're going to talk is just idiotic. But saying we should _talk_..." Jess leaned towards her.

"Alright, alright, I concede your point." Rory smiled briefly before sighing determinedly and continuing. "So... here's what I need to say." She paused for a moment, biting her lip. "I wanted to write you. You have no idea how many times I started that stupid letter, but it was never... good enough. God, Jess, you're perfect. You're so amazing, and so smart... it's not like with Dean. I can't just scribble off a 'Hey, how are you, I'm doing great, miss you lots, hugs and kisses, say hi to the queen for me, love Rory.'"

"The queen?" Jess interjected, bemused.

"Buckingham fountain, like the palace, it's in Chicago, so not the point!" Rory sputtered. "The point is... I wanna be with you. I have all these people around me, telling me you're no good for me and that I should stay away from you and that it's just a phase, liking you, that I'm not in my right mind, that I need to remember what a good boyfriend Dean is... but here's the thing. I remember what a good boyfriend Dean is. I never forgot. I am very well aware of what a textbook-definition-perfect boyfriend Dean is." Jess shifted slightly, breaking eye-contact with Rory for the first time during her rambling. Rory moved closer to him and ducked her head, catching his eyes again and continued softly. "But he's not _my_ definition of perfect. And I've realized that I'm not out of my mind for liking you. I'm out of my mind for staying in a relationship with a guy I don't feel that way about just because everyone says I should. Jess, I want everything this life has to offer. I know I'm sheltered, but that just makes me want to live my life even more. And the best life has for me right now... is _you_. I want _you_, Jess... so much."

"Rory..." Jess looked away and stared off at some unclear point across the lake. "I don't... you... I don't deserve-"

"Yes. Yes, you do! Don't tell yourself you don't, 'cause I know better. We both do. Jess, you deserve everything you want, and more. So the only question is... if you want _me_." Rory searched his face nervously.

"If I want... are you kidding me?" Jess looked at her almost angrily.

"No... I... I understand if you don't-"

Jess swiftly bridged the gap between them and kissed her insistently. It only took a second for Rory to respond in kind, wrapping her arms around his neck and twining her fingers into his hair. Jess pulled her forward and onto his lap, slipping his arms around her waist. Rory secured her legs around him and ran her tongue along his bottom lip. He immediately opened his mouth to her and had just started to explore her mouth when she broke the kiss. "Um... so either that's a yes, or you're really into the concept of the goodbye kiss."

"Actually, I'm more into the concept of the will-you-please-break-up-with-bagboy-already-and-go-out-with-me kiss." Jess stared intently into her eyes.

Rory smiled and slowly leaned in to kiss him again, but this time it was slower, less urgent - more sensual.

"And what kind of kiss was that?" Jess asked quietly after they came up for air.

"That was a you're-going-to-break-up-with-Shane-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you kiss." Rory explained impishly.

"You seem to be suggesting you know what's good for me whether or not I agree." Jess remarked slowly.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Rory whispered.

"Surprisingly, no." Jess kissed her neck and then rested his head on her shoulder. "Rory... I'm not used to doing the whole "Walk to Remember" thing..."

"Jess-" Rory started, tightening her arms around him.

"No, let me finish." Jess straightened up and looked her in the eye. "I wanna try. I know I probably won't be great at it, but if you give me a chance, I promise to really try."

"Already done." Rory smiled. "So, wait... does this mean I actually get to introduce you as my... boyfriend?" She bit her lip again.

"Introduce me to whom? This whole stupid town knows who I am already. They have pictures of me on their walls, right below a "Most Wanted Hoodlum" sign. They know me plenty." He ended bitterly.

"Nope. They _think_ they know you, but they don't. So I think it's about time someone re-introduced you, and if you ask me, "Most Beloved Boyfriend" sounds much better than your previous title." She smiled brightly and nudged him. "Wanna chime in here, Harpo?"

"I am _much_ better looking than Harpo. And I have better hair." Jess smiled lazily up at her. "And I have an infinitely superior girlfriend."

Rory grinned. "You don't even know what Harpo's girlfriend was like. She was probably very nice."

"Not as nice as you. I've heard you've even taken to tutoring the hopeless... now that's real generous of you, Red."

"Red?"

"Little Red Riding Hood. Going all the way through the scary woods just to bring her sick granny some chicken soup? Keep up, Gilmore! You're gonna have to do better than that if you want me to actually admit to being your boyfriend."

"Too late, you already have." Rory beamed.

"Huh. You learn something new every day." Jess smirked, leaning forward to kiss her again.

A/N: review, review, review please! Herbert the plot bunny has been poked awake from hibernation, and much like Tinkerbell, he needs your support to stay happy! :)


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